Vacation 2016 - Day 7 - 7/20/2016 - a "castle-tastic" day
We left Rudesheim Germany around 9:00 AM, for a cruise up the Rhine,
Which in this area seems to have a castle or castle ruins about every 75 feet. Well not really, but as the map shows, it a lot of castles, happily many preserved or fully restored.
There were a ton of terraces for growing grapes, many dating back to Roman times.
The quaint village of Assmanhausen got its name, as the practice of proctology was invented here.
Lots of castles.
We also passed a small town that had a dragon in the garden. We also learned that unlike the stories the Brothers Grimm collected and sanitized, most Germanic stories, legends and "fairly tales" end in death: be it accidental, murder or suicide. Or all three.
Although not a castle, there is a house built on an island that looks like a ship.
A Viking cruise line saying probably is, "a castle a day keeps the tourist in stay"
Possibly an apocryphal story, but supposedly in WWII the Allies were trying hard NOT to bomb historically-significant items. So many railway tunnels were decorated post-haste, to make them look like they were ancient.
We also saw the statue of Loreli, which is either: in homage to a girl who accidentally fell to her death when seeing her forbidden lover while being escorted to a nunnery; or a siren of the same name that lures seamen to their deaths. Again, those harsh German legends, no "happily ever after!"
More castles. Note this was not boring as the scenery was amazing, and the passing ships were fun, and as you can see each castle is in a unique style.
We passed a house that was on such a steep slope, they have a small funicular to get up to the house from the road (the track to the right of the house).
We also saw these mostly white blobs on the hills here and there - not until zooming in did you see it was goats.
There were two castles, separated by walls; the legend I forget the details, but apparently two brothers loved the same girl, one went away and got married, came back, both built castles, walls were built for some reason, and all died. The end.
The river views were fantastic, and there are mile markers just like a highway. Because it is a highway.
What is nice to travel with is a real camera, as no phone or compact camera will get zoom shots like the one above; a zoom in on the stone detail.
We arrived in Koblenz in the late morning, just in time for lunch. Did not go to the Marksburg castle tour, mostly due to the heat and the terrain.
The statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers.
In Koblenz,
went to the Altes Brauhaus and had
Also found Maximilian's Altes Kaufhaus, and tried their
Next day - Köln and Kölsch!
Ciao - for now!
We left Rudesheim Germany around 9:00 AM, for a cruise up the Rhine,
There were a ton of terraces for growing grapes, many dating back to Roman times.
The quaint village of Assmanhausen got its name, as the practice of proctology was invented here.
Lots of castles.
We also passed a small town that had a dragon in the garden. We also learned that unlike the stories the Brothers Grimm collected and sanitized, most Germanic stories, legends and "fairly tales" end in death: be it accidental, murder or suicide. Or all three.
Although not a castle, there is a house built on an island that looks like a ship.
A Viking cruise line saying probably is, "a castle a day keeps the tourist in stay"
Possibly an apocryphal story, but supposedly in WWII the Allies were trying hard NOT to bomb historically-significant items. So many railway tunnels were decorated post-haste, to make them look like they were ancient.
We also saw the statue of Loreli, which is either: in homage to a girl who accidentally fell to her death when seeing her forbidden lover while being escorted to a nunnery; or a siren of the same name that lures seamen to their deaths. Again, those harsh German legends, no "happily ever after!"
More castles. Note this was not boring as the scenery was amazing, and the passing ships were fun, and as you can see each castle is in a unique style.
We passed a house that was on such a steep slope, they have a small funicular to get up to the house from the road (the track to the right of the house).
We also saw these mostly white blobs on the hills here and there - not until zooming in did you see it was goats.
There were two castles, separated by walls; the legend I forget the details, but apparently two brothers loved the same girl, one went away and got married, came back, both built castles, walls were built for some reason, and all died. The end.
The river views were fantastic, and there are mile markers just like a highway. Because it is a highway.
What is nice to travel with is a real camera, as no phone or compact camera will get zoom shots like the one above; a zoom in on the stone detail.
We arrived in Koblenz in the late morning, just in time for lunch. Did not go to the Marksburg castle tour, mostly due to the heat and the terrain.
The statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers.
In Koblenz,
went to the Altes Brauhaus and had
Bitburger | Königsbacher Pils | Lager, Pilsner, German Pils | ?% | [7.0]
Bitburger | Lichen Kellerbier | Kellerbier | ?% | [7.2]
Bolten | Alt | Altbier | 4.9% | [6.8]
Bitburger | Kandi Malz Bier | Lager, Malzbier | 0.1% | [10.0]*
*best Malzbier ever. First Malzbier ever.
Also found Maximilian's Altes Kaufhaus, and tried their
Maximilian's | Sommer Weisen | Ale, Wheat, Hefeweizen | 2.8% | [8.5]
Maximilian's | Braunes | Lager, German Dark, Dunkel | 5.1% | [8.9]
Next day - Köln and Kölsch!
Ciao - for now!
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